State fair casinos in Delaware, New Mexico generating millions

CHRIS WETTERICH

Saturday

Sep 17, 2011 at 12:01 AMSep 17, 2011 at 2:02 PM

If Gov. Pat Quinn signs the gambling expansion bill — a big “if” given the myriad of objections expressed by the governor to date — the Illinois State Fairgrounds would join at least two other state fairgrounds nationwide in having slot machines.

If Gov. Pat Quinn signs the gambling expansion bill — a big “if” given the myriad of objections expressed by the governor to date — the Illinois State Fairgrounds would join at least two other state fairgrounds nationwide in having slot machines.

The fairgrounds in New Mexico and Delaware have full-fledged casinos at the racetracks on their facilities. The casinos provide revenue streams that help those state fairs to be mostly self-sustaining, instead of depending upon millions of taxpayer dollars, as the Illinois State Fair does.

Quinn has said that he worries the 366-acre state fairgrounds in Springfield will become less family friendly if gambling on slot machines is permitted for most of the year, as Senate Bill 744 would allow.

“Harness racing has been at the fair for a long time, but when you put in slot machines, that’s a wholly different situation. I was never excited about that,” Quinn said last month.

But William DiMondi, general manager for the Delaware State Fair, said the casino there has not been a detriment to family fun in Delaware.

“We heard the same arguments that it would be the ruination of the fair, on the basis of mom and apple pie, but in all candidness, the fact that we had gaming (horseracing) — and in our case have had gaming since the late ‘30s — kind of diffused a little bit of the entry of expanded gaming,” DiMondi said.

Reinvested profits

The Delaware State Fair is a nonprofit organization. It receives only $100,000 from the state each year for premiums paid out to the winners of the agricultural contests, DiMondi said.

The Delaware State Fair owns 76 percent of the stock in Harrington Raceway Inc., which has a racetrack and casino in the middle of the fairgrounds. Harrington, which is also a tenant of the 400-acre Delaware State Fair, pays out dividends to its stockholders, which the fair has reinvested in its grounds.

The casino opened about 15 years ago, DiMondi said, after the Delaware Legislature passed its Horsemen Redevelopment Act to allow casinos at the state’s three horseracing tracks.

“We barely had barns that were held together by paint, let alone nails and decent wood,” DiMondi said. “We’ve spent in excess of $100 million on our grounds. The fair and its fairgoers, and in particular our livestock exhibitors, have been huge beneficiaries… It has enabled us to replace all of our barns with state-of-the-art, multi-use facilities. The money is reinvested right back here in the community.”

Under SB744, after expenses are paid, 50 percent of the revenue received by the newly created Illinois State Fairground Racetrack Authority, the body that will oversee the slot machines and the racetrack, would go into state fairgrounds infrastructure improvement fund. It’s unclear how much revenue would be brought in and whether it would wipe out the Illinois State Fair’s deficit, which was $2.8 million in 2009.

The Delaware State Fair’s casino was not a slam dunk when the state first considered allowing one at the state fairgrounds, DiMondi said. The state offered the fairgrounds an annual $750,000 payment from the state’s other two casinos if its board didn’t want a casino on the fairgrounds. The Delaware State Fair’s 80-person board was deadlocked over whether to build it, with the board’s president breaking a tie in favor of the casino.

“The offer of three-quarters of a million dollars without having to go down that road to ‘dirty money,’ so to speak, was very attractive,” DiMondi said.

Gambling growth

Tony Somone, executive director of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association, noted that Illinois State Fair patrons already gamble on horseracing during the fair, and that the Illinois State Lottery operates its own large tent there.

“I respect the governor’s opinion, and I’m sure there is an amicable way to meld the new world in which we live in with the keeping traditional family values that are so important to the governor,” he said. “Like it or not, gaming is a growth industry. Gambling revenues across the country were down last year, but they were not as down nearly as much as the economy. Gaming, like it or not, is here to stay. It is a proven winner at creating revenue for the state and for creating sustainable jobs.”

In New Mexico, the state fairgrounds, called EXPO New Mexico, is self-supporting through admissions, parking, rental and other fees, but it does receive capital improvement money from the state. A recent article in the Albuquerque Journal said the Downs at Albuquerque, the privately owned casino and racetrack at EXPO New Mexico, pays $2.42 million annually in lease fees, which is the EXPO New Mexico’s largest source of revenue.

Officials in New Mexico could not be reached for comment last week.

Amy Bliefnick, manager of the Illinois State Fair, while acknowledging the potential revenue from slot machines would be a boon to the fairgrounds, said she hasn’t told Quinn one way or the other whether she favors the legislation.

“I always have to react to whatever decisions are made,” she said. “So whether I choose to agree or disagree is really kind of irrelevant in the whole matter. … I don’t want to be opposed to something and then it goes through and I have to deal with it. It’s much easier for me that way.”

Chris Wetterich can be reached at 788-1523.

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